In recent weeks, there has been an upsurge, even from the democrats in Congress,
about the evils of expressing your first amendment rights if expressing them
criticizes a Hollywood celebrity. The elite are protected from the "rabble" by
democrats who think they know who butters their bread, and by the media who
sees anyone who doesn't think like them as, well, "rabble."

Apparently the First Amendment to the Constitution is at the disposal of
the left, but not anyone else. The left can boycott, criticize and pretty
much damn the government and country and anyone they see as a threat or even
an annoyance. But woe to the person or persons who criticize the left. For
the left, bad mouthing America is patriotic, but badmouthing the person badmouthing
America, is downright treasonous.

USA Weekend.com ran a July 6, 2003, story on the "always offbeat" star
of the new Disney movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
Black Pearl." Basically, the story on Depp is a condemnation of America,
its people and its place in the world. Depp "loves" America, but
prefers France. He moved there five years ago and has never looked back.
You see France is far more civilized than America for Depp as he is "shocked
by the gun violence in American schools and feels it is far safer raising
a family in France."

Depp prefers to "live a simple life" in France. According to the
article, the simple life for Johnny is one in which he can "live as
he pleases in a French farmhouse near swanky St. Tropez and choose which
roles he wants to play." Johnny also likes to go out and buy "$18,000
bottles of wine in restaurants, and pals around with Rolling Stones bad boys
Keith Richards and Ron Wood."

However, Johnny loves "France and [to] be living in a tiny village
with nothing around. There is still the possibility to live a simple life.
You can go to the market, walk about, buy fruits and vegetables -- the things
they did 100 and 200 years ago. We have moments when we're sitting in our
house and our kids are playing, and we look at one another and think, 'Thank
God we escaped.'"

For Johnny, buying a cucumber or a cabbage from a market is primitive living
and living and being in America is a place and state of being, to "escape" from.
Just the same, Johnny wants us all to pay money to see him in the movies
so he can continue to badmouth the country that allowed him to become an "artiste" and
if anyone dare criticize that pompous little twerp for badmouthing America,
it is an "infringement" on his First Amendment rights.

Johnny sees the French as far more sophisticated and erudite than the backward
Americans. "He rejects the view that there has been a surge of anti-Americanism
there because of opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, and he believes
the French people have behaved in a dignified manner while some Americans
have resorted to ‘schoolyard tactics' by renaming French fries ‘freedom
fries."'

Johnny explains, "That was so revealing, that grown men sat around
and came up with that idea," talking about freedom fries. "It was
tragic and embarrassing. At the same time, I was happy it was exposed, and
people knew that a bunch of congressmen -- big people, the upper-drawer people
-- made that decision." Johnny seems to really like France and is very
protective.

As far as the war in Iraq is concerned, Johnny only sees the ugly Americans
bullying the world's innocent and defenseless peoples. "I saw these
American kids being shipped off to war, and I was looking at their faces
and thinking, they're not ready for it." Adding, "Is anybody ever
ready for it? You're thinking about where they're going, what they're getting
into. What's it really all about? It's about dough; it's about money. That's
ugly."

Besides trashing America, Johnny also has advice on parenting and family
values, you know, the things we all thought about whenever we used to think
about Disney. Johnny has a couple of children who he loves dearly along with
their mother. However, he hasn't as yet chosen to marry. Johnny doesn't think
it is important just yet. He wants to wait a while so that the marriage will
mean something to his children. Johnny wants to wait to marry the mother
of his children, who by the way, he loves dearly, until his "kids are
old enough to enjoy it."

Johnny sees marriage the same way normal people view going to the movies.
After all, seeing a movie is more enjoyable when you have friends around
who also enjoy the night out. Marriage for Johnny, unlike us mere mortals,
is all about the ceremony. Johnny is not getting married for the sake of
his wife or for the sake of his children, but rather for the sake of entertaining
his children. How sick is that?

Like Susan Sarandon, the Dixie Chicks and countless other celebrities before
him, Johnny Depp has taken what was given to him by America and her people,
and stepped all over it. Perhaps next time America creates a new star with
all the wealth and fame that goes with it, we Americans' remember to keep
the receipt.